Today, the road seems longer!

It may be "a long hard road, but we're gunna get there!" But at times it seems that that road is longer than is possible to bare. I feel I am back in the basement again! I should know that I am only visiting for a while and will soon get out. But at the moment it feels like I don't know how to get out and don't want to!

I had planned to go into my workshop yesterday, but I allowed the devil to steal my joy over a phone call with a friend. It deflated me. It wasn't much, just that they were too tired for us to come over! Not sick, not out, not got visitors, just too tired! They had been gardening all weekend and were stiff. It is a different standards thing. Now if I'd put my back out, that'd be something, but feeling a bit stiff to me is feeble. So I judge them by my standard and think if they would rather make feeble excuses than see us then they are obviously trying to tell me something.

Here goes the stupid as far as losing my joy is concerned! Two other friends phoned me out of the blue who I haven't seen for ages. Both, were wanting to see us! We are booked for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning!

On Sunday I caught up with a load of old friends and one of them wants to meet up with us as well. The issue for others is that because I am a man and they are women they don't want to do the "bringing the kids round to play and chat over coffee" thing. I understand that and respect that, but no matter how many times I get told that, no matter how much I respect that, the child in me feels rejected. "They don't want to play with me!"

Anyway, Becky has been having problems with a friend from Girls Brigade. I actually think this friend is ASD (after all we are all on the scale somewhere supposedly!)

Now, I have heard parents say, "let them fight their own battles", "Let them sort it out for themselves" "let them find there own answers" "don't get involved!" But the problem for me is, we are trying to bring our kids up with Christian values. The Bible says, "Teach your child!" Not, "Let them sort it out for themselves!" The fact that Becky is having problems with this girl isn't the issue, it is that she listens to our advice and then goes and does it her way and instead of winning and friend she makes an enemy!

Last night she had a toe to toe row with the girl. I don't really understand it. Neither me or CJ had these problems when we were kids. OK so we had our share of problems, but Becky seems to always find friends she can fall out with! Usually they do the falling out! I would say, "who's the common denominator?" but I remember this one girl was as sweet as anything. She came to our house for meals and she was so polite and so giving, "This is the nicest pizza I have ever had!" and things like that. Then one she blew up at Becky. It seemed so odd. A real Jekyll and Hyde. Then at this girls birthday party, we were talking to her next door neighbour and she was telling us how this girl had such a temper on her. She was always slamming doors and so on!

Obviously, as Paul said, "with some their sins come afterwards!" But this seems to be Becky's life. People who live on roller coasters! One minute they are lovely nice and warm people, next they are biting her head off! Why does she draw people like this? Are there any normal, sane people in the world?

Anyway, The issue here at the moment is, not the situation she is in, but how she handled it. It's groundhog day again! If the same situation keeps coming up perhaps we have to change how we handle it until we deal with it as we should. What Becky has shown me is she would rather follow her flesh than our advice. As a first generation Christian, at least one that wants to be Christian anyway, it is hard breaking new ground in teaching our children to be Christian.

We watch Little House on the Prairie a lot. Every now and then Charles is proud that his daughters, "socked it to 'em, and good too!" But that is hardly "Christian!" That is one persons play on right and wrong who wasn't a Christian. It is almost subversive in that it comes across as Christian, but Michael Landon changed a lot of the story and he himself was married three times. He may have been held up as a great moralist by one of the Presidents, but he is no Christian icon!

I feel that Becky may be getting wrong messages from this. Especially as her favourite episode is called "bully boys" from he third series, where three brothers cheat everyone in town. Charles tries to beat them up, Mary (can you believe it) hits on with her lunch pale! Eventually the whole town gangs up against the nasty ones and marches them out of town. Again, where were the usual attempts to win them round like they usually do?

It is a parents roll to correct and guide. There would be no point correcting and guiding if they were getting it right all the time. We'd be out of a job!

Like I say, the biggest problem is I'm never that sure what the right thing to do is anyway! If it was down to my flesh, I'd do what she's doing! All along, I've have been saying to Becky to have a quiet word with this girl about the issues, sound her out find out what she feels about it. However, she has shyed away from this and ended up having a big row with everyone else taking sides! All I know is we are supposed to add mercy, forgiveness, love, kindness, patience and all that stuff and not outbursts of anger, quarrels, disputes and divisions!